crime and punishment early modern

Question 1

what were the laws against witchcraft in 1542 and 1563?

Answer 1

1542 - witchcraft was a crime against king and state: punished by execution
1563 - could only be executed if caused death

Question 2

what were matthew hopkins methods of witch catching?

Answer 2

• looking at skin: blemishes, marks, warts, teats
• interrogation: sleep deprivation

Question 3

what were watchmen?

Answer 3

-patrolled streets
-used in larger towns
-unpaid
-uneffective

Question 4

what were town constables?

Answer 4

-had some powers to arrest, were expected to turn in serious criminals to the courts
-unpaid
-no weapons or uniforms

Question 5

what were thief takers?

Answer 5

-rich victims of crime + government began paying people known as thief takers
-were paid a reward for the capture of a criminal or for the return of stolen property

Question 6

what were early prisons used for in early modern?

Answer 6

often used to hold petty criminals, vagrants, drunk + disorderly offenders
poor conditions
1556 - house of correction called Bridewells - hard labour

Question 7

what was the bloody code?

Answer 7

-gave harsh laws that punished more and more crimes by death
-number of crimes carrying death penalty increased dramatically from 50 to 225
-massive increase in crime

Question 8

what was transportation in the early modern?

Answer 8

-introduced in 17th century, criminals were transported by ships to one of 13 colonies
-hard manual labour, 7-14 years depending on crime committed
-freedom gained but often with no money to pay for a return home

Question 9

reasons why vagrancy became a crime?

Answer 9

-increasing population
-series of bad harvests
-closure of the monasteries
-decline in cloth trade
-inflation

Question 10

what was the 1547 vagrancy act?

Answer 10

-1st offense: branded with letter v and sold as a slave for 2 years
-2nd offense: slavery for life or execution

Question 11

what was the 1597 act for the relief of the poor?

Answer 11

vagabonds to be whipped and sent home, if didn’t mend ways then sent to house of correction, banished or executed

Question 12

what did the 1601 poor laws state?

Answer 12

-deserving poor: those physically unfit to work given financial help
-undeserving poor: those fit to work still be punished e.g whipping

Question 13

what was heresy?

Answer 13

often linked with treason, as refusing to follow the state religion was a crime against state, authority and god (religion)